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recit ... Reddie, Cecil
recit
a brief novel, usually with a simple narrative line. One of the writers who consciously used the form was Andre Gide. Both L'Immoraliste (1902; The Immoralist) and La Porte etroite ...
recitative
style of monody (accompanied solo song) that emphasizes the rhythms and accents of spoken language. The earliest significant form of monody, recitative developed in the late 1500s in opposition to ...
Recklinghausen
city, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. The city is situated on the northern edge of the Ruhr industrial region, north of Essen, and has port facilities ...
Recklinghausen, Friedrich Daniel von
German pathologist, best known for his descriptions of two disorders, each called Recklinghausen's disease: multiple neurofibromatosis (1882), characterized by numerous skin tumours associated with areas of pigmentation, and osteitis fibrosa ...
Reclus, Elisee
French geographer and anarchist who was awarded the gold medal of the Paris Geographical Society in 1892 for La Nouvelle Geographie universelle.
recognition
in psychology, a form of remembering characterized by a feeling of familiarity when something previously experienced is again encountered; in such situations a correct response can be identified when presented ...
recognizance
in Anglo-American law, obligation entered into before a judge or magistrate whereby a party (the recognizor) binds himself to owe a sum of money in the event that he does ...
recoilless rifle
any of several antitank weapons developed during World War II. They are lightweight and can be operated by one or two men. Recoil was eliminated by allowing part of the ...
recombination
in genetics, regrouping of the maternal and paternal genes during the formation of gametes (sex cells). Recombination occurs randomly in nature as a normal event of meiosis, the process by ...
Reconquista
in medieval Spain and Portugal, a series of campaigns by Christian states to recapture territory from the Muslims (Moors), who had occupied most of the Iberian Peninsula in the early ...
Reconstruction
(1865-77), in U.S. history, period during and after the American Civil War in which attempts were made to solve the political, social, and economic problems arising from the readmission to ...
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
U.S. government agency established by Congress on January 22, 1932, to provide financial aid to railroads, financial institutions, and business corporations. With the passage of the Emergency Relief Act in ...
Reconstructionism
in American Judaism, movement and ideology founded in 1922 that holds that Judaism is in essence a religious civilization the religious elements of which are purely human, naturalistic expressions of ...
Recorde, Robert
physician, mathematician, and author of introductory mathematics textbooks.
recorder
in Anglo-American judicial systems, an officer appointed by a city, county, or other administrative unit to keep legal records. In England and Wales the recorder, in the course of time, ...
recorder
in music, wind instrument of the fipple, or whistle, flute class, closely related to the flageolet. Most recorders made since their revival in 1919 by the English instrument maker Arnold ...
rectifier
device that converts alternating electric current into direct current. It may be an electron tube (either a vacuum or a gaseous type), vibrator, solid-state device, or mechanical device. Direct current ...
Recto, Claro Mayo
statesman and leader of the "Filipino-first" movement that attacked U.S. "neo-colonialism" in the Philippines.
rectocele
disorder in which the rectum bulges into the back wall of the vagina. It is caused when the muscles and connective tissues supporting the rectum and back wall of the ...
rectum
terminal segment of the digestive system in which feces accumulate just prior to discharge. The rectum is continuous with the sigmoid colon and extends 13 to 15 cm (5 to ...
Recuay
pre-Columbian culture and site near present-day Recuay in the Callejon de Huaylas Valley of the northern highlands of Peru. Recuay culture dates to the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC-AD ...
recursive function
in logic and mathematics, a type of function or expression predicating some concept or property of one or more variables, which is specified by a procedure that yields values or ...
Recurvirostridae
bird family (order Charadriiformes) composed of seven species of moderately large (29-48 cm [11-19 inches] ) wading birds characterized by extremely long legs, a relatively small head, and a long, ...
recycling
recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products. The basic phases in recycling are the collection of waste materials, their processing or manufacture into new products, and ...
red algae
members of the division Rhodophyta (about 3,000 species), predominantly marine algae often found attached to other plants near tropical and subtropical shores. Their morphological range, though not so extensive as ...
Red Army
Soviet army created by the Communist government after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The name Red Army was abandoned in 1946.
Red Army Faction
West German radical leftist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early leaders, Andreas Baader (1943-77) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934-76).
red bat
migratory vesper bat (family Vespertilionidae) found in wooded areas of North America. It is about 10 cm (4 inches) long, including a 5-cm (2-inch) tail, weighs 10-15 grams (0.33-0.5 ounce), ...
Red Bluff
city, seat (1857) of Tehama county, northern California, U.S. It lies along the Sacramento River, 115 miles (185 km) north-northwest of Sacramento. Settled in the 1840s, it was known as ...
Red Brigades
militant left-wing organization in Italy that gained notoriety in the 1970s for kidnappings, murders, and sabotage. Its self-proclaimed aim was to undermine the Italian state and pave the way for ...
red bug
any insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae (order Heteroptera), which contains more than 300 species. The red bug-a fairly common, gregarious, plant-feeding insect found mostly in the tropics and subtropics-is oval ...
Red Bull Theatre
London public playhouse in Upper Street, Clerkenwell, built in about 1600-05 by Aaron Holland and noted for the vulgarity and obstreperousness of its patrons. The Red Bull was frequented by ...
red cedar
common name for many evergreen trees of the cypress family (Cupressaceae), especially western red cedar, also known as giant arborvitae (q.v.); and eastern red cedar (q.v.), a species of juniper.
Red Cloud
city, seat of Webster county, southern Nebraska, U.S. It lies along the Republican River, east of Harlan Reservoir, near the Kansas line. First settled by Captain Silas Garber (state governor, ...
Red Cloud
Indian name Mahpiua Luta a principal chief of the Oglala Teton Dakota (Sioux), who successfully resisted (1865-67) the U.S. government's development of the Bozeman Trail to newly discovered goldfields in ...
red crab
Pacific crab species closely related to the Dungeness crab (q.v.).
Red Cross and Red Crescent
humanitarian agency with national affiliates in almost every country in the world. The Red Cross movement began with the founding of the International Committee for the Relief of the Wounded ...
Red Deer
city, central Alberta, Canada, on the Red Deer River, midway between Calgary (90 miles [145 km] south) and Edmonton. Original settlement began around a ford where the trail from Calgary ...
red deer
(Cervus elaphus), well-known deer, family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla), native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa and introduced into New Zealand. The red deer has long been hunted both for sport ...
Red Deer River
river in southern Alberta, Canada, a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River. Rising in the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Banff National Park near Lake Louise, the river flows northeast ...
red dog
name for two different simple gambling card games.
red flyer
one of the largest species of kangaroo (q.v.).
Red Fort
Mughal fort in Old Delhi, India. It was so called because of its red sandstone walls, which enclosed palaces, gardens, barracks, and other buildings. It was built by Shah Jahan ...
Red Guards
in China, groups of militant university and high school students formed into paramilitary units as part of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). They were formed under the auspices of the Chinese ...
red heifer
in Jewish history, unblemished, never-before-yoked animal that was slaughtered and burned to restore ritual purity to those who had become unclean through contact with the dead (Numbers 19). Certain spoils ...
Red Jacket
Seneca chief whose magnificent oratory masked his schemes to maintain his position despite double-dealing against his people's interests. His first Indian name was Otetiani, and he assumed the name Sagoyewatha ...
red maple
(Acer rubrum), large, irregularly narrow tree of the maple family (Aceraceae), cultivated for its shade and spectacular autumn colour. It is one of the most common trees in its native ...
red oak
any member of a group or subgenus (Erythrobalanus) of North American ornamental and timber shrubs and trees of the genus Quercus, in the beech family (Fagaceae), that have bristle-tipped leaves, ...
Red River
principal river of northern Vietnam. It rises in central Yunnan province, southwestern China, and flows southeast in a deep, narrow gorge, across the Tonkin region, through Hanoi, to enter the ...
Red River
navigable river rising in the high plains of eastern New Mexico, U.S., and flowing southeast across Texas and Louisiana to a point northwest of Baton Rouge, where it enters the ...
Red River Campaign
(March 10-May 22, 1864), in the American Civil War, unsuccessful Union effort to seize control of the important cotton-growing states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. In the spring of 1864, ...
red river hog
African hoofed mammal, a subspecies of bush pig (q.v.).
Red River Indian War
(1874-75), uprising of warriors from several Indian tribes thought to be peacefully settled on Oklahoma and Texas reservations, ending in the crushing of the Indian dissidents by the United States. ...
Red River of the North
river flowing through the northern United States and southern Manitoba, Can. It is formed by the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers at the twin cities ...
Red River Settlement
(1811-36), colony in Canada on the banks of the Red River near the mouth of the Assiniboine River (in present-day Manitoba). The colony was founded in 1811-12 by Thomas Douglas, ...
Red Rock River
section of the Jefferson River (q.v.), one of the three headstreams of the Missouri River.
Red Rum
(foaled 1965), steeplechase horse who won the Grand National at Aintree, Eng., an unprecedented three times, in 1973, 1974, and 1977.
Red Sea
narrow strip of water extending southeastward from Suez, Egypt, for about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometres) to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects with the Gulf of Aden and thence with ...
red shift
displacement of the spectrum of an astronomical object toward longer (red) wavelengths. It is generally attributed to the Doppler effect, a change in wavelength that results when a given source ...
Red Shirt Movement
(Persian: "Servants of God"), an action in support of the Indian National Congress started by Abdul Ghaffar Khan of the North-West Frontier Province of India in 1930. Ghaffar Khan was ...
red snow
snow or ice surfaces coloured rose to blood red by algae such as Chlamydomonas, Raphidonema, and diatoms. During seasons when there is little sunlight and temperatures are much lower than ...
red spider
any of the plant-feeding mites of the family Tetranychidae (subclass Acari). Red spiders are a common pest on houseplants and agriculturally important plants, including the foliage and fruit of orchard ...
red sprites and blue jets
flashes of light that occur above thunderstorms and that are associated with normal lightning in the thundercloud below.
Red Square
open square in Moscow adjoining the historic fortress and centre of government known as the Kremlin (Russian: Kreml). The Kremlin and Red Square were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List ...
red tide
discoloration of sea water caused by dinoflagellates (phylum Protozoa), during periodic blooms (or population increases). Toxic substances released by these organisms into the water may be lethal to fish and ...
Red Volta River
river in West Africa, rising in Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) northwest of Ouagadougou. It flows about 200 mi (320 km) south-southeast to join the White Volta (Volta Blanche) near ...
Red Wing
city, seat (1853) of Goodhue county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. It lies on the Mississippi River (bridged to Wisconsin), near Lake Pepin, about 45 miles (70 km) southeast of St. Paul. ...
red-figure pottery
type of Greek pottery that flourished from the late 6th to the late 4th century BC. During this period most of the more important vases were painted in this style ...
red-tailed black shark
fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae; a species of labeo (q.v.).
redback
name in Australia for the black widow (q.v.) spider.
redbird cactus
(Pedilanthus tithymaloides), succulent plant, of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native from Florida to Venezuela and sometimes grown in tropical rock gardens or as a pot plant in the north. (It ...
Redbridge
outer borough of London, on the northeastern perimeter of the metropolis, part of the historic county of Essex. The borough's name derives from the Red Bridge, which crossed the River ...
redbud
(Cercis), any of a genus of shrubs to small trees, in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to North America, southern Europe, and Asia, and widely planted for their showy early ...
Redcar and Cleveland
unitary authority, geographic county of North Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south side of the River Tees between Middlesbrough and the rocky coastline and stretches ...
Redcliffe
residential and resort city, southeastern Queensland, Australia, on Redcliffe Peninsula, a 15-sq-mi (39-sq-km) promontory bounded on the south, east, and north by Bramble, Moreton, and Deception bays. Originally called Humpybong, ...
Reddie, Cecil
educational reformer, important in the development of progressive education in England.